Save Me
by Buskuta
Summary: What if it was Spencer who went missing that summer, not Alison? What if Spencer and Toby were dating when it happened? Would she have disappeared differently? Will Toby be able to save her?
1. Prologue

It was the summer of 8th grade. Spencer and Toby have been seeing each other for weeks. They've trusted each other with most of their secrets, despite the fact that they haven't been dating that long. It all started with being paired up for a school project, but they couldn't be happier with the results.

As time passes, Spencer confides in Toby and tells him secrets – deeper secrets - like how she kissed Ian, Melissa's boyfriend, and now Alison is threatening she'll tell Melissa if Spencer doesn't.

Toby is glad she trusts him, and tells her a secret he hasn't told a soul. He tells her how Jenna was forcing herself on him. Of course, this is more concerning to Spencer than some stupid kissing session with her sibling's boyfriend, and she tells him that he should tell somebody.

It's only when he tells her that she can make it seem like he was doing it does she stop telling him to do it.

They support and comfort each other, and they couldn't be happier that they were together.

Toby is relieved to have Spencer. She's the most amazing, beautiful girl he's ever laid his piercing eyes on. On top of that, she's one of the only people that knows he didn't blind Jenna. Because she was the one who did.

Well, it was Alison anyways, and Toby knew that. No matter how much Toby told her otherwise, Spencer still felt guilty. She said she was the one who handed her the lighter. She said she was the one who handed her the lighter. It broke Toby's heart to know she felt so guilty over something that Alison had done.

Toby's parents were going to send him away to reform school because they thought he was the reason Jenna was blind. The only reason he didn't go was because Jenna convinced them not to. Now he owes her, and she won't let him forget it.

It was their one month anniversary today, also known as Labor day. Toby was walking to Spencer's house, with chocolate and flowers in hand. It was cheesy, but they were a cheesy couple, and he knew Spencer would love it. She spent the night in her barn with Alison and the girls, so he was going to surprise her at the barn. He approached the double doors and knocked, no answer. He knocked again. No answer. Maybe they were still asleep? Toby decided to open the doors, praying to the gods above that they weren't half naked. But when he opened the doors, he realized the barn was empty. There were still blankets and pillows, but it was unoccupied. Maybe they went inside?

He went back to the house and knocked. This time it was opened, by no other than Mrs Hastings.

"Toby…" She said. Toby greeted her with a smile. He knew that she wasn't her biggest fan because of the Jenna thing, but she was a lawyer, so he was innocent until proven guilty.

Except there was something different about her features. Her normally determined look on her face was replaced with one of fear and anxiousness.

"Well, you were seeing my daughter… you should come inside." She opened the door further and motioned him to come in. What did she mean by were? Did she want him and Spencer to stop seeing each other? Well, she picked a bad day.

But as he stepped inside the large house, he realized that probably wasn't the case. In the living room, there was Mr Hastings, Melissa and Ian, Alison, Aria, Hanna and Emily. But where was Spencer?

All of a sudden he felt pretty silly walking in with chocolate and flowers. He set them down on the table and said, "These are for Spencer," This gave him a loud sob from Melissa and sniffles from the girls, even Alison.

"Toby, have a seat," Mrs Hastings motioned to the couches that were occupied by people. He took a seat next to Emily.

"Toby… Spencer is missing." There was a long silence in the room as this sunk in.

"What?" He choked.

Alison cleared her threat. "We were having a sleepover in the barn. We fell asleep and when we woke up at probably 2AM, she was gone. I was up before the rest of them, and, I… I think I heard her scream," Alison stuttered.

"We called. They have to wait 24 hours before she's classified as missing. If she's not back by tomorrow then they'll look into it." Mr Hastings said.

The next day, it was in the papers. On the front cover, on the news, and soon posters were hanging all over Rosewood. Toby still couldn't believe it. Spencer was missing.


	2. Chapter 2

Toby was taking his evening stroll down the street. He found this relaxing, he felt like Spencer was with him the whole time, so he did this daily. He smiled as he imagined Spencer walking with him, telling him how she aced that English test.

Any few people who were still on the streets scurried to the other side of the road when they saw him, and his smile faded. He was already hated for 'blinding Jenna' which he did not do, but now some of the judgmental residents of Rosewood thought that he killed Spencer. He winced at the thought that she was dead, somewhere around here, and it gave him chills.

It was a year since Spencer Hastings went missing. Exactly a year. The media lost interest in her story after a few weeks, and moved on to different things, like celebrity sightings. The police kept looking, more quietly now, but now they were more certain that they'd find her body, and not Spencer herself.

Toby eventually had to come to the realization that Spencer Hastings, his sweet girlfriend, was dead. But he couldn't bring himself to think like that, not even after he hasn't seen her for exactly 1 year. He still had a bit of hope that Spencer was still out there somewhere, alive.

But he was the only one who thought that.

Several funeral companies had approached the Hastings' and offered their funeral services for free, to provide 'closure'. Of course, Mr and Mrs Hastings didn't accept. They were certain their teenage daughter was dead, but they couldn't bring themselves to admit it.

Toby strolled by, ignoring the posters of Spencer that now read, **'SPENCER HASTINGS. WOULD BE 16.'**

He was nearing the Hastings' and the Dilaurentis' residence when he heard the faint wail of sirens. The sound got closer, and Toby's anxiety grew. What if something had happened to Alison or Melissa or somebody around here he knew? He looked around for any sign of panic, and there it was.

There was much panic.

There was a crowd of people surrounding the Dilaurentis' property, and the police cars and ambulance stopped in front of the house. Although Alison had blinded Jenna and pinned it on him, she was one of Spencer's friends, so he had to make sure she was okay. It was what Spencer would have wanted.

He ran as fast as possible, being stopped by Ian.

"Hey man, listen," Ian said hurriedly. Toby could tell he was trying to remain calm but Ian's voice was cracking. "You can't go over there. They... they found Spencer-"

"I knew she was alive!" Toby interrupted, pushing past Ian. "Spencer!" He called, but Ian grabbed his arm.

"No man... I'm sorry Toby... They... They found Spencer's body."

Toby's heart shattered into a thousand pieces. Ian's words kept ringing through his head. Body. They found Spencer's body. She was dead.

As if on cue, paramedics were making their way through a crowd of people - that were now being controlled by police tape – with a stretcher, and a body bag placed on top, which had something in it. Probably Spencer.

Toby's world stopped. He let the tears flow freely, not caring who was watching. Ian was still holding onto his arm, but softly now, as if in support, not restraint.

Toby looked around frantically, for somebody who might be able to tell him what was happening. He saw Mr and Mrs Hastings', Mr Hastings was trying to comfort his sobbing wife. Melissa came and took Ian's hand, beginning to cry. Emily, Hanna, Alison and Aria were all there, crying hysterically. Even Alison was shedding a few tears. He saw Jenna, standing in the back, wearing her obnoxiously large sunglasses. He saw Mrs and Mr Dilaurentis holding hands, staring at the scene before them. He also saw Jason, who looked completely out of it. The area was swarming with police and random people, and pretty soon news reporters showed up, looking at the horrid scene.

"Spencer Hastings, who went missing exactly one year ago today, was found buried in the Dilaurentis' yard. More information as the story progresses." A reporter was talking into a microphone.

This made Toby's blood go cold. Spencer was here, the entire time. Much closer than anybody thought. She was right next to her house! For one year, people were looking for her, when they were walking right above her.

Not many people assumed that Spencer's one month boyfriend would take her death so hard. But that's because they didn't know something. That something was a secret, a secret that Toby didn't even tell Spencer.

 _He loved her._

* * *

 **Hey guys! I hope you liked chapter 1 of this story. I didn't kill Spencer, right? RIGHT? Well, you'll have to keep reading to find out if she's dead or not. She might be, but remember what happened to Alison? ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

After Spencer's body was found, Toby didn't leave the house. Not for school, not for family, not for anything. He stayed locked in his bedroom, thinking of why somebody would do this to her. Why would somebody hurt her? Was she threatened before this? How did he not realize?

Over the past 3 days, Toby noticed he was getting messages on his phone other than from his father. They were all from Spencer's friends, except Alison. They were all wondering how he was doing and things like that, which surprised Toby because they didn't really talk ever since that day when Spencer went missing.

But today was the day he dreaded the most. Spencer's funeral. He contemplated if he should go or not, for the sake of his mental health, but immediately felt ashamed. He had to go, he was her boyfriend!

He picked out a black suit and tie with matching pants and left his room for the first time in days. As soon as he stepped out of his room he felt a rough arm link through his.

Jenna.

"Ready, Toby?" She asked sweetly. Toby sighed, but murmured and 'yes' before he led her down the hall.

Spencer's funeral was at the church and had many people. Her family, friends, family of her friends, extended family, teammates, classmates, and other people. He was glad people cared so much for Spencer but the church was getting pretty crowded.

Anytime Toby managed to escape Jenna's presence Spencer's friends would always come and try to talk to him. They were nice, but he noticed how Alison didn't speak a word to him. He didn't mind though. Anything that came out of her mouth was usually an insult.

He sat with Spencer's friends when the service was starting, and sat between Emily and Hanna. Emily slipped her hand through his, and he wasn't sure if it was for her support or his.

When the service finished, He left the church with Aria, Hanna, Alison and Emily. They were talking about how they were going to make plans on the weekend to 'celebrate Spencer' but got interrupted by a man.

"Aria, Alison, Hanna and Emily?" He asked.

"That's us," Alison said, stepping forward.

"I'm Detective Wilden," He said, showing them his badge. "I'm going to have to bring you all in for questioning."

"But we talked to the police when Spencer went missing," Alison replied.

"I know, and I read over your files. But this is no longer a missing person investigation, it's a murder. And rest assured, I will find out what happened that summer." He concluded before walking away. The girls and Toby all shared a nervous look before their phones went off.

It was funny, really, because coincidentally all their phones went off at the same time, including his. They all opened their phones to read the message that was sent to each of them but they all shared the same expression.

'I'm still here, bitches, and I know everything. –A'

They all looked at each other. Who the hell was –A? Was it Spencer? No, that's stupid. They're attending the funeral for Spencer. So who was this –A, and what did they mean by 'I'm still here?'

What made Toby really wonder about was why they said 'and I know everything'. What was everything? Was it how Jenna was forcing herself on him? Was it one of the secrets the girls had? Was it one they shared? Was it the Jenna thing?

They all looked at each other blankly. Who was this person?

* * *

The next day, Toby sat with the girls at lunch. He wasn't the only guy there, though. Hanna was dating some guy called Caleb, and he was there too. They talked a bit while the girls talked about Noel Kahn's party that's happening in two weeks.

Everything was pretty calm until their phones went off at the same time. While Caleb laughed, the other looked at each other with nervous glances.

"I'm not as dead as you think. –A" Alison read. Everybody looked at each other.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Caleb asked.

Emily shrugged. "That Spencer is still alive?"

"Please, Emily, we went to her funeral yesterday." Alison snapped. "Somebody is just messing with us."

Everybody at the table went silent. Emily pretended not to care about Alison's remark but Toby noticed her biting her lip. He could always tell she was a little sensitive, but that wasn't her fault. Alison was a rude person.

"Suppose this person was telling the truth," Hanna said. "What if Spencer were alive?"

"The odds of that are pretty slim, Han," Aria replied. "She's been gone for two years. We were at her funeral."

"Okay, but what if she had help?" Hanna continued.

"Did you not just listen to Aria? _We were at her funeral_ , Hanna!" Alison barked.

"What if it wasn't Spencer, then what?" Hanna snapped.

"I think you just don't want to believe she's gone." Alison spat. Then she picked up her books and left the table.

"Maybe she's right. Maybe somebody is just messing with you guys." Caleb said.

The bell rang then, jumping them back to reality. Caleb picked up his books and got up. "Sorry, I got to go to my tech class." He turned around but Hanna grabbed his arm.

"I didn't know you took a tech class," She said.

"I used to hack a lot before I came here. It's just something I'm into." He grinned before walking away. Toby picked up his own books and headed off towards his English class.

* * *

Everything was fine in English class, besides the strange stares exchanged between Aria and Mr. Fitz, the English teacher. That was, until his and Aria's phones went off.

They gave each other nervous glances before reading their messages.

'You might be on to something there. –A'

Toby and Aria looked at each other again. Was this –A suggesting that Spencer might be alive? If so, whose funeral was that?

* * *

"So you seriously think Spencer is alive?" Emily asked them after class.

Toby shrugged. "Maybe. At least that's what –A is telling us."

"Well, do you know whose number is texting you?" She replied.

Aria shook her head. "It's blocked."

"Maybe Caleb can figure it out?" Hanna told them. "He said he was good at hacking, and he's taking a tech class. Maybe he'll be able to figure it out?"

"I'll ask him," Toby said as Mr. Fitz walked by. Him and Aria exchanged a look before he went into his classroom.

"Okay, what is going on with you and Mr. Fitz?" Hanna exploded.

"Hanna!" Emily cried.

"No! Okay? They've been undressing each other with their eyes and it's kind of freaking me out." Hanna said.

Aria sighed. "Okay, fine. A few days ago, before school started, I went to this bar and he was there. We started talking and..."

"And?" Hanna asked.

"Well... we kind of kissed..." Aria finished.

" _Oh my god_ , Aria!"

"What? I didn't know he was going to be my English teacher!"

"Whatever, I got to get to class." Emily said and left.

"I'll go find Caleb," Toby said and went towards the computer lab.

* * *

"Hey there," Caleb greeted Toby.

"Hey," He replied. "Um, I kind of have a favor to ask you."

"Okay..." Caleb said, his attention now on Toby.

"Well, I was kind of wondering if you could figure out who's been sending these texts."

Caleb hesitated. "I think this is something we should talk about with the rest of the group."

Toby nodded.

* * *

"To do this I'm going to need somebody's phone who has a message from that person." Caleb explained to everybody at their break. There was a long pause.

"Oh, here," Aria said and gave him her phone. "I have spare next period and I was going to go to the chem lab anyway."

"Thanks," Caleb replied, putting the phone in his pocket. "You'll get it back tomorrow."

Aria nodded before the bell rang and everybody hurried off to their next class.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I hope you like this chapter. I'm trying to make my chapters longer, but it's kind of hard. I'll try to make them have at least 1k words! Anyways, I'm not sure if Alison should stay rude like this or if I should give her some character development. Oh well. And, like I said, Spencer might not be dead! Also, -A isn't going to be the same -A in PLL. Enjoy!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, I know I'm the worst at updating, and I'm sorry! But because of this, you'll have a new chapter within the next 3 days. Enjoy!**

* * *

The next day after school, Toby, Emily, Caleb, Hanna and Aria decided to meet at the Brew to discuss what Caleb found. Caleb said he found the phone number, but he didn't know whose it was.

"Alright, Aria, before we get into this I should probably tell you..."

"Oh god, did you break it? I knew I couldn't trust you! You're paying to get it fixed." Aria cried.

"What? No! I didn't break it." Caleb replied. "But... Somebody stole it..."

"WHAT?" Aria yelled. "Are you kidding me? Caleb, please tell me you're joking. Do you know how much private stuff I have on that – "

"Oh, relax, I got it back for you," Caleb rolled his eyes. "But when you gave it to me, I had gym next, and when I got back I looked in my gym locker for it and it wasn't there. But guess where it was?"

"Where was it?" Emily asked.

"Noel Khan's gym bag." Caleb said.

"Wait, why were you looking in his gym bag?" Hanna asked.

"Because I got suspicious when I saw two phones in there instead of one."

"Are you sure that's the only reason you looked?"

"Well, there was a condom – "

"EW! Okay, TMI Caleb!"

"The point is, I got it back before Noel could do whatever it was he wanted to do with it," Caleb said. "And I figured out the phone number."

"Well, what was it?" Toby asked.

"211-343-8888," Caleb replied. **(Please do NOT call this number, I don't know whose it is!)**

"What? That can't be right."

"It is."

"But... That's Spencer's number."

"Are you sure?" Emily asked.

"Yes! I'm sure." Toby cried.

"Well, can you figure out where the phone is?" Aria asked.

"I can try," Caleb said, pulling his laptop from his bag. He opened it and started typing for a few moments, before turning the laptop to show the rest of them. "This is the address."

"841 Rose Drive," Emily stated.

"Let's go," Toby said, standing up.

"Wait, right now?" Hanna asked.

"Yes, let's go!"

"This is it," Caleb said, monitoring his laptop. It was half an hour since they left the Brew, and now they're slowing down at an old building. It would have taken them longer, but Toby was driving and he ended up breaking about 50 driving laws.

"It looks like an old warehouse," Emily said.

"That's exactly what it is," Caleb confirmed.

"This is the perfect place for a lair..." Toby seethed.

"Guys, I don't like this part of town," Aria said. "It's where most people here get murdered."

"Aria, this is Rosewood. The odds of getting murdered in this part are just as high as anywhere else." Hanna told her.

The car finally came to a stop, right across from the warehouse. There weren't a lot of houses around, so this place was pretty secluded. It _was_ a good place for a lair.

"Come on," Toby said, getting out of the car.

"Wait," Emily stopped him.

"What?" Toby asked.

"Are you sure we should do this now? We should tell the police."

"No way. This person seems to know everything we do, so they'll probably be out of here by the time we get to the station. Plus, what are we going to tell them when they ask how we know? I'm pretty sure what Caleb did was less than legal."

"Alright, fine, let's go," Emily sighed, getting out. Hanna and Aria followed, along with Caleb.

As they entered the building, a strong scent of death made them scowl. Certainly, something died in here, and Toby could only hope it wasn't Spencer. He slowly moved his hand around the wall, looking to feel a light switch. Before he could his eyes were blinded by a piercing light, and he realized Caleb found it before he did. He looked around, seeing the room for the first time. It was quite large, with multiple doors leading to who-knows-where. The floor was solid wood, covered in dust, and the off-white walls had a brown-red dried liquid on them. Although it resembled blood, Toby refused to think that somebody died here.

Emily broke the eerie silence. "This room looks like it hasn't been used in ages," She said, looking around.

"I don't think the phone is in here." Aria said.

"Maybe in one of the rooms?" Toby asked, pointing to a door.

"We could check..." Hanna began. "But what if there's a body here?"

"Hanna!" Aria and Emily exclaimed. Hanna shrugged.

Of course, this is what they were all thinking. None of them wanted to admit it, but a small part of each of them all knew it was a possibility that Spencer could have died here. If, of course, she really was dead.

"Okay, before we open this door," Emily stopped Caleb from touching the knob. "I need to make sure we're all on the same page. Do we think Spencer is dead or not?"

The eerie silence returned, looming over the 5 teens. They looked at each other with worried faces, not answering what seemed to be the golden question.

"Well, we saw her... her body." Aria squeaked. "And we went to her funeral..."

"Okay, but we didn't actually see her body, we just saw the body bag. That funeral might not have been meant for Spencer!" Hanna replied.

"Hanna's right," Caleb said. "Who else would be sending those weird messages?"

"What messages?" An unfamiliar voice broke the argument, and left a chilling silence. Toby whipped around to face the last person he thought would be here.

"Mona?"

"Okay, what are you doing here? We haven't seen you since - "

"Spencer's alleged body was found? I know. And I followed you here." Mona told Emily.

"Why?" Hanna snapped.

Mona rolled her eyes. "Because I overheard what you guys were talking about at the Brew. I didn't want you to find this." She took a pink phone from her purse.

"Is that...?" Aria asked.

"Spencer's phone? Yes. Yes it is." She replied coolly.

"Why do you have it? Are you the one sending us messages?" Hanna accused.

Mona raised an eyebrow. "No, I'm not. Again, what messages?"

The 5 of them looked at each other. "It's complicated." Toby finally said.

"Try me," Mona replied.

"Fine, but you have to explain what you're doing with Spencer's phone, after."

Mona sighed. "Alright."

After they explained about –A and their theory of how Spencer is alive, Mona started explaining.

"When they found Spencer's body, I had to find out who did this. She was a good friend of mine, especially towards the end." Mona began. "So, after that I started taking some computer classes. I learned enough and eventually figured out how to hack." She gave a pointed look at Caleb. "I hacked into the file system of the Rosewood PD and found some of their theories. I went from there, and tracked her phone to here. I wasn't sure what is was doing here, but I checked this whole place and nothing else was here. So my 'lair' if you will, is in that door over there." She pointed to a door in the opposite direction. "I always come here after school and try to get some leads. It wasn't until yesterday when I made an... unsettling discovery."

"Which is...?" Emily asked.

"Spencer is alive."

* * *

 **DUN DUN DUN! Well, I'm pretty sure you guys probably all knew that. Don't worry, Spencer will return soon, and Spoby fluff will follow. So, what was Noel going to do with Aria's phone? Is Mona telling the truth? What was Spencer's phone doing in an old, abandoned warehouse? Where is Spencer? Enjoy!**


	5. Chapter 5

Toby would have fallen onto the dusty floor if Caleb wasn't grasping his arm so tight. He stared at Mona, unsure whether to believe her or not. Why should he? But on the other hand, why shouldn't he? She seemed to know what she was talking about for the most part.

It was Aria who broke the silence. "How do you know this?" She asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"Because somebody has been using her phone to message people, and from the looks of it, it's Spencer who's using it. And people have been replying. I'm not the only one who knows she's alive. Multiple people do, and they've known for a long time." Mona replied.

"Wait, how do you know this? I thought you had her phone this whole time?" Hanna asked.

Mona rolled her eyes. "I'm not stupid, Hanna. I leave it where I found it when I leave, but when I come here to research I pick it up and bring it to my 'lair'."

Emily looked uncertain. "So you're 100% sure she's alive?"

"Yes."

"Well, who has she been messaging?" Caleb asked.

Mona shook her head. "I don't know. The numbers are blocked. But she's asking them to bring money to multiple different locations."

"We could start there," Toby said. "We could all go to these locations and see who drops off the money, and if Spencer is there when they do. This could be the – " He was cut short by a noise coming through one of the doors.

"Do you have rat friends or something?" Hanna asked Mona.

"I checked this place earlier. Nobody could be down there, that door was always locked." Mona whispered, ignoring Hanna's comment.

"Well, do you have the key?" Aria asked. Mona shook her head.

"I never found it," She replied.

"Well then who could be down there?" Hanna asked frantically.

"I don't know," Mona said. "We should go." She put her things into her purse it was only a minute before they were in the car, driving away from the abandoned warehouse.

* * *

A slim arm slipped through Toby's the second he walked through the door. He didn't even need to look to recognize the bittersweet voice that followed. "Hey, Toby," It greeted.

"Hey, Jenna," Toby replied unenthusiastically as he rolled his eyes. It's not like he could see her anyway.

"So, I have great news!" She squeaked. "I went to the eye doctor today and he said we can try for a surgery to fix my eyes!"

"That's great Jenna," Toby replied flatly. "But the thing is, I don't care."

Jenna smacked him on the arm a little too rough. "I'm not looking for congratulations, I'm looking for a ride. Can you drive me to the hospital tomorrow?"

Toby sighed. Tomorrow was the weekend; he wasn't going to be busy. The few friends he had perished along with his social life when Jenna was blinded. But he didn't really want to drive her there. Then again, he would escape from the house and his parents' death glares he'd been receiving ever since Jenna got sent to the hospital that night. "Sure, Jenna," He told her.

"Great! Thanks." She said, and her arm disappeared from his as she slipped down the hall. Toby sighed again and trudged down to his bedroom. He entered and shut the door, toppling onto his bed and stared blankly at the ceiling. He didn't have homework, parties were automatically off the list, so the only thing left to do was to hide in his dark room until tomorrow.

He staring at the ceiling for a few minutes until his phone rang, which was surprising. He picked it up to find a message, from none other than –A.

He hesitated, unsure if he should open it. He wasn't going to let –A have power over him! You let other people though, thought a voice in his head. And it was true. For a while anyway, but he got used to it, and started to appreciate the solitude. But –A was different. What did this person have on him to think he could go around and send him creepy texts? No. This –A wasn't going to control his life. Instead of opening this message Toby simply deleted it. That was the end of that.

Until, he received another text.

Frustrated, Toby picked up the phone, ready to give –A a piece of his mind, but his anger was replaced by confusion. The text was from Emily. Why would Emily text him? They weren't close.

He opened the message, to find an invite to the Brew. This made Toby even more confused. Why would Emily be inviting him to the Brew? And with everybody? Sure, they went today, but that was on an –A mission. This is to hang out. Why? Curious, he sent her test.

 **Sure, but why?**

It was seconds before he got a response.

 **No reason. Meet there in 20?**

 **Sure.**

Toby took his phone, keys, and some cash and headed off to the Brew.

As Toby entered the Brew, he immediately saw Emily's wave and headed over. He noticed Emily, Hanna, Aria, Caleb, but no Alison. Strange. Those girls usually go everywhere in a group.

He approached their table, but hesitated. Maybe Alison was late. He knew she didn't like him that much, and to be honest, he didn't either. "Where's Alison?" He asked.

Emily shrugged. "She said she couldn't make it." Emily gestured a hand to a seat next to her and Aria.

"So," Caleb said as Toby sat down. "Do we believe Mona?"

Aria pursed her lips. "I'm not sure. I want proof before we decide on anything. Besides, what happened to Noel? Why did he want my phone?"

Hanna shrugged. "Maybe he's into you." Everybody looked at her. "What? I think she should go for it. Noel is hard to get."

"Well, that's too bad, because I'm not single. In case you guys haven't noticed, I'm kind of seeing somebody."Aria said.

"Oh, no," Emily groaned, "Please tell me it's not our English Teacher."

There was a pause. Aria looked down, pretending to look at the menu.

"It's our English Teacher." Caleb confirmed.

Emily sighed. There was another pause.

"Oh well," Hanna squeaked. "I'm ordering cheese fries."

Aria rolled her eyes. "So," She began. "What's our next move?"

"I think we should talk to Mona about this, and keep an eye on Noel." Caleb planned. The other nodded, except for Hanna, who was flagging down a waitress.

"Ugh!" She exclaimed. "The service here is really bad."

Before anybody could reply the bell above the door rang, and a tall man walked through. Everybody gaped.

"Jason?"

* * *

 **A.N. Oops. I am so sorry for not updating! I know that I promised I would update soon but I was kind of swamped with school and I was feeling discouraged because of the fact that Spoby isn't happening on PLL. Ugh.**

 **But I haven't forgotten about this story. You guys will see more chapters soon!**

 **As you might of noticed I deleted a story called 'Here For You'. It wasn't really working, so I'm sorry to those of you who were reading it.**

 **Also, I know this is kind of a filler chapter but the next one will have answers. Anyways, leave a review and I'll update as soon as possible! Enjoy!**


	6. Chapter 6

The 5 teens stared in astonishment at the young man before them.

"Jason?" Hanna exclaimed. "But I thought he..."

"Moved out with his parents after Spencer's... body was found?" Aria finished for her friend, giving Toby a wary glance.

"That's kind of suspicious if you ask me," Hanna said.

"What, that a body was found in his yard so he left?" Aria asked. "If it were me, I would have been gone before the coroners left."

"What's he doing back here then?" Emily asked.

Caleb shrugged. "He's a grown man. Maybe he decided to move back?"

Before any of them could say anything else, Jason turned around with a latte in hand, a shocked expression hinting his usually neutral features.

"Aria, Hanna, and Emily?" Jason asked, walking up to the small group.

"That's us," Emily confirmed.

"I thought I knew you guys. Long time no see, huh?" He asked.

"Yea..." Aria replied. An awkward silence fell over the group.

"So," Jason said, trying to start a conversation, "Do you guys know who lives in our old house?"

"A family with a girl our age, her name's Maya," Emily told him quickly.

Jason nodded. "Are you friends with her?"

An uneasy grin appeared on Emily's features. "Yea, I am..." She said, almost uncertain. She then looked at her feet as if her Sport Check running shoes were interesting.

There was another long pause, before Jason yet again spoke up. "So how are you guys doing?" He asked, his dark eyes surveying each teen.

"We're alright," Aria said. "But we have to meet – Uh, Mona – now, so we better get going."

Caleb shot her a 'Are you crazy?' look but Toby covered for her. "Yea, let's get going."

The group quickly left, but Jason grabbed Toby's arm and he spun around. "Are you okay, Toby?" Jason asked.

Toby studied Jason's features. Not much has changed since the last time he saw him. "I guess," He said, and left The Brew.

Toby dragged his tray through the cafeteria the nect day looking for a place to sit when he heard a voice calling his name. He turned to his right to find Emily waving him over. Confused, he slowly went to the group's table. Why did they want him to hang out with them so much recently? They weren't friends, were they?

"Hey, Toby," Caleb greeted him as he sat down next to Emily.

"Hey," he mumbled.

The group continued to chat for a while until Hanna scowled at something from across the cafeteria.

"Since when did those two become so close?" She asked in disgust.

Toby followed her confused gaze to no other than Jenna, with her arm linked through Alison's. "I thought Jenna and Alison didn't want to associate after the... you know."

An uneasy silence fell over the group and Emily cleared her throat. Nobody was really in the mood for talking about how they blinded a girl and made his step-brother take the blame.

As if on cue, Alison and her new friend strolled over to their table. "Hey guys," Alison greeted them sweetly. "I hope you don't mind, but Jenna's going to sit with us today." Her fake grin disappeared and she narrowed her eyes on Toby. "What's he doing here?"

Toby looked down at his lap. Alison didn't have the ability to make him want to run away to Canada anymore, but she still made him feel insecure. And he hated it.

"He's our friend too," Emily defended. Toby was surprised that somebody defended him, but he never thought it would be Emily. She was like Alison's lap dog.

Alison smirked. "Well, not for much longer. Have you guys forgotten what he's done to – "

"You can drop it, Ali," Aria snapped. "Everybody here knows you blinded Jenna."

Alison's lips formed a straight line. "Well, Spencer's ex- boyfriend or not, he doesn't belong at this table." Toby had to stop himself from sighing at ex-boyfriend.

"Why don't you ever try to chase Caleb off?" Hanna challenged.

"Because that's different, we're talking about freak Toby Cavanaugh, who kills squirrels and peeks in girls' windows!" She spat. There was a long pause, and Toby wasn't sure if it was because they gave up or if they thought it was true.

But it turns out it was neither.

"Maybe you don't belong at this table, Alison," Aria said seriously.

"Are you guys serious right now?" Alison asked in disbelief. When nobody answered, she pulled her arm that was looped through Jenna's. "Come on, Jenna," she said, "Let's see if I can fix you up with Noel." She finished, her eyes landing on Aria before stalking away, with Jenna in tow.

But Aria didn't flinch.

After a long pause, Toby spoke. "Thank you guys... You didn't have to do that, I could have left."

Emily shook her head. "You're in this group as much as the rest of us." She told him.

Toby was about to reply but Mona hurried to their group.

"Well, well, if it isn't the all seeing Mona," Caleb said sarcastically.

Mona rolled her eyes. "Listen, I found a location where Spencer will be going to tonight."

"How do we even know that we can trust you?" Hanna snapped. "We went to her freaking funeral!"

"Well, I suppose you don't know. But you have to. I'm the only thing you have to help you get Spencer back."

"Okay, where's the location? I'm not taking any chances." Toby said. He wasn't sure if he even believed Mona, but he wanted to. He wanted Spencer.

Mona smirked. "I knew lover boy here would believe me." She sat down and pulled out her pink laptop.

"I never said that," Toby replied. "But I said I wasn't taking chances. If there's even a possibility she's alive, I want to find her."

"Alright, well, she's heading to Philadelphia tonight at 8 PM to meet up with somebody. I'm assuming it's a cash drop off." Mona stated while typing on the keyboard.

"Wait, tonight? But... that's when Noel is having his annual Friday Night party!" Hanna exclaimed.

"Are you freaking kidding me Hanna?" Emily asked in astonishment.

"What? It's the party of the year! I can't miss it!"

"Wait, maybe Hanna has a point." Aria said.

"What is wrong with you guys?" Caleb asked.

"No, listen. We still don't know what Noel is up to, or why he wanted my phone. He might be working with this A guy."

"A guy? Who are we talking about?" Mona asked.

"This person is stalking us and sending us weird texts ever since Spencer's funeral," Emily recapped.

"Speaking of which, has anybody heard from A?" Toby asked.

Everybody shook their heads.

"That makes me nervous," Aria said.

"Okay, listen. How about tonight, Hanna, Caleb and Aria will go to Noel's party. Then Toby, Emily and I will go to Philly to find Spencer." Mona decided. The rest nodded in agreement.

The bell rang before anybody could do anything else. Emily stood up. "I got to go to swim practice, Ben can drive us to Philly. Let me know if something happens." She said and left.

"Yeah, and, I got to go... see a teacher about a homework question," Aria said, picking up her bag.

"Is that teacher Fitz and is that question a makeout in the janitor's closet?" Hanna asked. Aria didn't reply but her face turned a shade of red.

"Oh my gosh." Hanna exclaimed and stalked off to class.

Aria cleared her throat. "I better... uh... go..." She stuttered and hurried off to what was probably the janitor's closet, to where their English teacher was waiting.

"Well, okay then... that was... okay, let's have a look and see where Spencer's going," Mona changed the subject.

"Caleb pointed to her screen. "Is that where she's going?"

Mona nodded. "It looks like she's meeting behind a restaurant."

"Which one?" Toby asked.

"Philly's pizzeria, on south street."

"Then that's where we'll go. I'll meet Emily after her swim practice to let her know where Ben's going to drive us."

Mona closed her laptop. "Come on, we have to go to class."

"Oh, great, English." Caleb sighed. "I'll never be able to look at Fitz the same way again."

"Me neither," Toby said and left.

English class was normal and boring as usual, besides the messy hair and screwed up tie of Mr. Fitz... and the lipstick stains on his neck. But other than that, it was normal. Until Toby received a message.

"The secret was for 5 people, not six.

-A"

Toby wasn't exactly sure what this meant. Was A going to hurt them for letting Mona know about them?


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey there! Long time no see. I'm really sorry about how bad last chapter was. I was sick and sleep deprived and didn't bother editing it too much.**

 **ANYWAYS, I hope you like this chapter. It's basically the calm before the storm. A lot of things are going to happen next chapter. Also, I need advice, on the romance in this story. If you guys want Aria to be with Ezra or Jason? She's obviously with Ezra at this point, and Ezra will always be in the story, but I need to know if you want her to be with Jason instead.**

 **Also, Who do you guys want Emily to be with? Paige, Maya, or Alison? Right now she's falling for Maya, but she hasn't even come out yet. But that'll change soon!**

 **Anyways, enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

Toby bit his lip and tapped his foot nervously on the floor of Fitz' class. This A message couldn't be good. What would A do to Mona?

His thoughts were interrupted by the bell. Emily would have finished swim practice by now, he thought, so he hurried through the halls to the locker rooms to find Emily. He would tell her what was happening and then they would find the others – and Mona – to get going.

He found his way to the outside of the girls' locker room to wait for Emily. Girls that were leaving gave him odd looks, but it didn't bother him anymore. He was used to it.

He was starting to think Emily had already left when she heard a surprised gasp from behind the wall, and Ben's voice. How did he get in there without him seeing, Toby wondered. He continued listening.

"If somebody catches you –" Emily started.

"I'll take my chances," Ben cut off. "We, need some alone time."

Toby shuddered and turned away to leave, not wanting to witness their 'alone time.' But before he left he heard Emily protesting.

"Well, I, need to get dressed," Emily told him.

"Don't bother," Ben replied.

"We can't now, my mom's expecting me."

"What's up, Em?" Ben asked, clearly irritated. "Last week you were all me and this week I'm some marching band geek with Onion breath. What's going on?"

"Nothing. I just, I got a lot on my mind, all right?"

"Alright, maybe you need to relax."

Now, Toby was going to leave when he heard kissing, but stopped again at Emily's protests. Now he was concerned.

"Ben, I can't do this right now – Seriously – Stop, you're acting strange – can you - Ben – "

Toby heard enough. Clearly Ben didn't take the hint, or he didn't want to listen. Either way, he wasn't going to let anybody do that to Emily. He might not like her in a romantic way, but she was his friend, and he cared about her.

He quickly stormed into the room and threw an unsuspecting Ben against the lockers and punched him. Ben was bleeding from his face but put up a fight, a fight that Toby easily won.

"Toby, stop it!"

"Is this guy the reason you've been acting strange, Em?" Ben asked through bloody teeth.

"Oh please," Emily said. "We're done, Ben." She quickly gathered her things and left the lockeroom. Toby gave her a minute to get out of the area before letting go of Ben.

"What the hell, man!" Ben yelled.

"Stay away from her." Toby ordered. "When somebody says no, it's no." He didn't wait for Ben to reply. He simply stalked off out of the locker room, in search for Emily.

He found her by her locker, now dressed. He approached her slowly. "Hey," He murmured softly. Emily looked at him and gave him an awkward smile.

"Hey," She said. "Thanks for, well, you know."

Toby shrugged. "I wasn't going to let him do that to you. I know what it's like when somebody doesn't take no for an answer."

Emily nodded slowly. "Well are you okay now?"

Toby gave her a small smile and nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay now. Are you okay?"

Emily pursed her lips slightly. "I suppose," She said thoughtfully. "I think... I don't know. I don't think I really had feelings for Ben anymore, anyways."

Toby could tell there was more to the story, but he didn't push her on it. He just nodded. "I get it," He said. "Anyways, I was waiting outside the locker room for you to show you this." He told her, pulling out his phone, and showing the text to her.

Emily furrowed her eyebrows. "Is this about Mona?" She asked.

"I think so," He replied. "I hope nothing happens when we go tonight."

"yeah. "Oh, um, we're going to have to find another ride for tonight." Emily said.

"Right. Maybe Alison can drop us off or something."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Emily replied. "She seems skeptical about the whole thing. Anytime one of us brings up Spencer, she shuts us down. Maybe Jason can take us."

"Are you sure it's a good idea getting him involved?" Toby asked. "We don't even know what A is going to do to Mona –"

"What's A going to do to me?" Speak of the devil. Mona came towards them with Hanna, Caleb, and Aria trailing behind.

"We don't know what A is going to do to you now that you know."

"This is getting dramatic," Caleb sighed. Before anybody could do anything else, Mr. Fitz came up to them, unsure of himself.

"Hey," He gave them a small wave. They looked around before murmurs of 'hey' went around.

"Um," He continued, "I suppose you all know that Aria and I are... a thing, now,"

"Yeah, we know," Hanna said. "We didn't even have to ask."

Mr. Fitz bit his lip. "Right, well, I was hoping if this could stay, in between us?"

Hanna snorted. "As if we were going to tell anybody. Banging your teacher would end up with you in jail and Aria being expelled."

"Hanna!" Everybody yelled.

She shrugged. "What?'

Mr. Fitz cleared his throat. "Yeah. Um, she also told me about this –A fiasco," he said. Sighs and groans went around as Aria flushed.

"And I just want you guys to know, that if you need help, I'm here," He said. "Not as a teacher, but as a friend."

"Thanks," Mona replied. "Actually, there is something you could do."

"Sure," He said, "What is it?"

"Well, we have to get to Philadelphia tonight," She said, looking around the group. "We um, we have a lead on –A, and we need a ride since Hanna, Aria and Caleb are going to spy – um – on Noel,"

Mr. Fitz nodded. "I can take you guys there. Where do you want me to pick you up?"

"At the end of my street," Toby told him the address. "Can you pick us up at 7:15?"

"Thanks," Emily murmured.

Mr. Fitz nodded. "I'll also keep an eye on Noel," He said and was about to leave but turned around. "Oh, you guys can call me Ezra now," then he left.

"Well, that was awkward," Hanna said.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait. But I wanted to get this up before PLL Tuesday, when Spoby rises!**

 **Anyways, I decided to keep Ezria a thing. Some people wanted Ezra and other people wanted Jaria. But I kept Ezria. But don't worry, Jason will still be around. Ezra's just important to the storyline right now.**

 **So, this chapter is basically the most epic thing I've ever written. Well, not ever, but for this story. You guys are gonna hate me for this. Oh well!**

 **This chapter is longer than usual, and it's really good. There's going to be different POVs, even though it's still 3rd person. Does that make sense?**

 **Who do you guys think A is?**

* * *

"Are you guys going to be okay?" Ezra asked as Toby, Mona and Emily climbed out of his rented van.

"We'll be fine, thanks again for lift," Toby told him and passed him some cash for the van.

Ezra waved him off. "Don't bother. I offered to take you guys here in the first place." And with that, he rode off.

"Okay, I'm checking out where Spencer's going right now." Mona said, reading her phone. "She's going slowly, but I wouldn't blame her. If we leave now, we can get there before she does."

"Guys, what if this is just a big mix up?" Emily asked. "What if Spencer's really – you know – dead? I mean, they found her, we went to her funeral... all we have is Mona's word."

"So you don't trust me?" Mona challenged, looking up from her device. "Trust me, she's alive. I wouldn't have started my research if I thought she wasn't. Everything is going to plan so far. Aria, Caleb and Hanna are at Noel's party. If Noel tries anything, They'll follow him. Jenna's supposed to be there, too. With Alison." Mona finished, giving Toby a glance. "I don't know if your step-sis is involved, Toby, but I've seen her. And if she's with Alison, they could be planning world domination for all we know."

"Okay, okay," Toby snapped. "Let's just go."

* * *

Aria, Caleb and Hanna entered the party house that was otherwise labelled as the Kahn Cabin. None of them were in the mood for partying, though.

"You guys remember the plan?" Caleb asked them.

"Of course," Hanna replied.

"Guys, I see Noel down there," Aria said, pointing. Across the large cabin was Noel, doing a keg-stand with Sean and Ben.

"And we're sure this guy's involved with A?" Hanna asked.

"Well why else would he have Aria's phone in his bag?" Caleb countered. "Just keep an eye on him while trying to blend in, alright?"

"How are we supposed to do that?" Hanna exclaimed. "We're stalking a potential member of this faceless team that's harassing us while trying to find out if our dead friend is actually alive, while probably – "

"We blend in like this," Caleb interrupted, and smashed his lips against hers. Hanna melted into it and backed up against a wall for support while wrapping her arms around Caleb's shoulders. Aria rolled her eyes at the couple, but broke them up quickly.

"Guys, Noel's gone,"

"Oh, crap," Hanna cried.

"Well, what did you expect, having a makeout session with your boyfriend isn't going to attract him down here!"

"Okay, okay, let's just try to find him, alright?" Caleb said.

"Fine," Aria sighed. "We'll split up." She then strode in the opposite direction while Caleb and Hanna went the other way. She was scanning the room when a large hand clamped in front of her mouth and her body was pulled back.

* * *

Toby, Mona and Emily made it to the restaurant at 7:50 were hiding in bushes.

"Mona, are you sure that Spencer's going to be here?" Toby asked.

"Yes, now shut up," Mona whispered.

They were staring intently at the alley when Toby felt a hand grasp on his shoulder. The three of them whirled around to face no other than Mr. Fitz.

"Mr – er – Ezra, what are you doing here?" Mona exclaimed.

"Did you think I was going to let you kids do this on your own? You don't even know who you're up against!" Ezra cried.

"Great, well, join the stakeout then." Emily murmured and they continued to watch intently for a while. That was, until Ezra's rented van started screeching down the road.

"What the – hey – that's my van!" Ezra yelled. "That – that thing's a rental!" He cried. He gave a pat on Toby's shoulder before running off after it.

It wasn't long until then when they saw it. The scene that made Toby's heart stop then thump so fast. He felt like he wasn't even alive until he saw it. When he saw it, a weight was lifted from his shoulders. What he saw made that dark alleyway seem a little brighter.

What he saw, was Spencer Hastings.

* * *

The large hand from Aria's face was removed and a light was turned on. She snapped open her eyes and found herself in a large, walk in closet with Noel Kahn.

"What the hell, Noel!" Aria exclaimed. She had to act as if she thought it was a prank, even though she knew the disgusting truth.

Noel cackled. "How else was I supposed to get you in here?"

Aria pursed her lips. "I have a boyfriend now." She told him, hoping that this was just a makeout session.

Noel smirked. "Good for you. But I wasn't going to have sex with you Aria."

The petite girl swallowed. "Then why did you drag me in here?"

"I think you know why," Noel replied.

"Actually, I don't," Aria snapped.

"Don't play dumb, Miss Montgomery," Noel said. Was he mocking her? Did he know about her relationship with Ezra?

"You have classified information on that phone of yours," Noel continued. "And I need it back."

"I'm not giving you my phone, Noel," Aria said, hoping she sounded stronger than she felt.

"I'm going to get it, one way or another," Noel told her. Aria braced herself for whatever Noel was going to do, but it never happened. She eventually opened her eyes and found Noel, on the floor unconscious, with – Jason? – on top of him.

"J-Jason?" Aria exclaimed.

"Yeah, it's me," He said, giving her his hand to help her out of the closet.

She furrowed her eyebrows. "What are you doing here?"

Jason grinned. "You're welcome."

Aria flushed. "Sorry. Thank you."

"Noel still invites me down to his cabin when he has wild-ass parties. He was a friend of Ian's."

Aria's brown eyes widened. "Melissa's Ian?"

Jason nodded. "Ian and I were alcohol buddies the summer Spencer went missing."

Well, that made sense. Before Aria could say anything her phone beeped. She opened it and read the message, from Emily:

'Mona knows who A is. Meet us in Philly, you know where we are.'

Aria's mouth was slightly agape in shock, and Jason noticed. "You alright?"

Aria shook her head. "We have to go to Philly."

They found Caleb and Hanna and the four of them left for Philadelphia.

* * *

There she was. Spencer Hastings was standing less than 15 feet away from him. Toby's mind told him to stay where he was but his feet had other plans. He felt himself bracing to make a run of his life, but Emily somehow sensed his temptation and took his arm. "Not yet," She whispered.

Toby rooted to the spot and focused on Spencer's now pale face to stop himself from running after her. But what was even more shocking was who came to meet her.

Stepping out from the bushes near Spencer, was no other than Alison DiLaurentis.

"Alison?" Emily whispered. "How? How could she know this whole time?"

"I don't know," Toby replied. He was speechless. He turned to face Mona, but she was staring at the ground.

"What?" Toby asked her.

Mona shot her head up and faced them, her eyes full of alarm. "I think I know who A is." She spit out.

"What?" Toby and Emily both screeched.

Mona shushed them. "I can't tell you guys who it is yet, not until I'm sure. Wait here. I'm going to go to the warehouse to make sure, but I'll be back. Get the other to get back here to Philly and keep an eye on Spencer." She stood up and hurried into the darkness.

Toby's palms were sweaty and he was seeing stars. He hoped he wouldn't pass out. He watched as Alison handed an orange envelope to the brunette before sinking back into the shadows.

"I texted Aria and Hanna," Emily whispered.

Toby couldn't do it anymore. Spencer was about to leave when he yelled her name. It felt so good to say that name and to have somebody reply. The only person who he wanted to reply.

Spencer's eyes darted around, before her panicked voice called out. "Toby?"  
Toby quickly got up and raced towards Spencer. The girl dropped the envelope and ran towards him. Toby grabbed Spencer and pulled her into a hug, burying his face in her brown hair.

Spencer lifted her head from his chest and pressed her lips against his, and they shared a soft kiss before Spencer broke it off.

Toby didn't remove his sturdy arms from her thin body. "Oh, my Spencer," He whispered. "I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too. You have no idea," Spencer told him.

Emily joined them. "Spencer," She whispered and hugged her friend.

Toby sighed peacefully. Ezra hurried back then.

"Hey guy, I – " He stopped in his tracks, his eyes flickered for a moment before a small smile spread on his face. He turned to Toby. "Is that –"

Toby nodded, now grinning like a madman. Ezra's smile broke into a grin.

Toby kept grinning for a moment. This was surreal. Spencer was here. His Spencer.

"I um, I couldn't find the van," Ezra said after a moment. "I don't know who took it."

Toby shrugged. "It was probably A, at this point." After that sentence he felt a surge of excitement rush through him, at the thought of Mona knowing who this person was.

He took Spencer's hand as they heard footsteps, but he was relieved when he saw it was Aria, Caleb and Hanna.

"Spencer. Freaking. Hastings." Hanna squealed and rushed to her best friend, hugging her tight.

Aria quickly joined the hug, and Emily smiled. Then they heard Caleb. "Did I hear somebody called Spencer Hastings?"

"Oh, right," Emily said. "Spencer, that's Caleb, with the greasy hair – "

"Shut up!"

"And the other guy is Mr. Fitz, our English teacher, or Ezra, Aria's boyfriend. Oh, and Mona's around here somewhere."

"Listen guys, there's this guy – " Spencer began but Toby cut her off.

"We know, it's A." Toby said. Spencer nodded.

Jason appeared then. "Is Spencer back?" He asked with a smile. His face fell when he scanned the group. "Where is she?"

Toby turned around, but she was gone.

"Spencer? SPENCER?" Toby yelled. There was no answer. "Damn it!"

Toby was seeing red. Where the hell did Spencer go?

His thoughts were interrupted by a call from the across the road. "Guys!" Mona yelled. "I know who A is!" She started crossing the street when the van came out of nowhere.

"Mona! Watch out!" Hanna called.

But it was too late. By the time Mona looked to her side the van already hit her side, and she toppled on top of the car and fell the ground.

* * *

 **See you next time!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry for not updating in a while! Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

It was hours that they spent in the hospital waiting for Mona to come out of surgery - they had to remove her spleen - but Toby couldn't get his mind off Spencer. The others reassured him and told him that she would reach out soon.

He knew he should be worrying about Mona right now. He was, but Mona wasn't his main worry, even if she did hold the valuable knowledge of the identity of their stalker - that's probably why a car hit her. But what Toby couldn't understand was how everybody was so calm. Their supposed dead best friend isn't dead, their other best friend knew she was alive the whole time, and now the 'dead' friend ran away once more. How could they not worry about Spencer?

It was another hour before a nurse came out and told Aria that Mona made it out of surgery. Aria had to lie and say Mona was her cousin. That was the only way they'd be able to see her, unless her parents gave them permission. Where were her parents, anyway?

About half an hour later they were allowed to go in and see Mona. When Aria opened the door, she was awake and sitting up in her bed.

"Mona," Hanna exclaimed, "thank gosh you're okay."

Mona looked confused. "Where am I?" She asked, looking at all of them.

"You got hit by a car," Emily said softly.

"We think it was Ezra's van," Caleb told her.

"Guys -"

"Mona, listen. Before you got hit you said you knew who A was. Who is it?" Hanna asked eagerly.

"Wait, guys -"

"Where are Ezra and Jason?" Aria asked.

"I think Jason drove Ezra home," Emily replied.

"GUYS!" Mona yelled. Everybody stopped and looked at her.

"What are you talking about?" Mona asked simply.

"W-what do you mean?" Hanna asked.

"Who is Ezra? Who is A? What are you guys talking about?"

Hanna opened her mouth to speak but before she could the door flew open to reveal a doctor, who smiled when he saw Mona.

"Ah, Mona, I'm glad to see you're awake!"

"What happened?" Mona asked again, but to the Doctor.

The doctor frowned. "You were in a hit and run. We had to remove your spleen but you should be fine. Except..."

"Except?" Aria prompted.

"Well, the vehicle hit Mona on a certain part of her head. I'm afraid she has short-term amnesia. This happens a lot in these types of accidents. The victims usually can't remember anything that happened from the past 3 days to the past week."

"Is there any chance she can get it back?" Toby asked the doctor.

He shook his head. "Less than 10 percent chance. I'm sorry."

Crap.

Toby looked around the room at the others. Caleb had a look of frustration, Hanna was looking down at the floor and the others looked - well, mad.

"The good news is," the doctor said, "that she'll be able to leave in less than a week."

But Toby wasn't paying attention anymore. Mona knew who A was, and A purposely tried to kill her. It didn't work, but they still don't know who A is. And Spencer is still gone.

"I'll be back later," the doctor said and left.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help you guys," Mona said helplessly.

"It's okay Mona," Hanna replied, "it's not your fault.

* * *

"What do we do now?" Aria exclaimed. "How are we supposed to figure out who A is now?"

"I don't know," Emily replied, staring at the floor.

"I think the first step is to find Spencer," Caleb said seriously. "She has answers, including how she disappeared."

"What about Alison?" Emily asked. "She knew Spencer was alive this whole time. She must have answers too."

Aria shook her head. "Why would Spencer trust Alison but not us?" She asked, looking at them. "We were all her friends. And you were her boyfriend," she motioned towards Toby. "She didn't tell you anything."

"Guys, let's not judge until we hear what Spencer has to say," Emily said calmly.

"Yeah, _if_ she tells us anything," Hanna replied.

"Okay, tomorrow we confront Alison, yes or no?" Toby asked. There was a pause before Caleb said "yes," and Emily and Aria both muttered yes.

"Then it's settled," Toby said. "We talk to her tomorrow."

* * *

Toby was going to his bedroom when he heard Jenna call for him from her room. He slowly opened her door and found her sitting at her desk, attempting to remove the bandage from her right eye. That's right. The eye surgery.

He quickly walked in and placed a soothing hand on Jenna's slim arm. "Are you sure?" He asked her softly. She nodded.

"I wanted you to be the first face I see," she explained before slowly removing the bandage.

She took a moment before reaching her shaking hands up to her face and slowly removed her sunglasses. She set them down on the desk before facing Toby and opened her eyes.

Toby looked at her emerald eyes for a sign that it worked. Her hopeful eyes quickly turned to sadness as tears started streaming down her face.

The surgery didn't work.

"Jenna," Toby said, "I'm so sorry."

Jenna didn't reply. She sniffed and placed her sunglasses back on her face. "It's okay," she said shakily.

Toby placed a hand on her shoulder before leaving the room. He sighed as he flopped onto his bed and opened a text on his phone. His eyes went wide as he read it.

'Tomorrow night behind the Brew. 9PM. Come alone.

-Spencer'

* * *

 **OKAY I am so sorry for not updating in forever! But my laptop is practically dead. I can't do anything without the screen freezing. Until I get a new one, I'll only be able to update on weekends.**

 **Anyways, I know this was a filler chapter, but kind of necessary. Next chapter will be longer and it'll have more events.**

 **I have 3 days left of school, so yay?**


	10. Chapter 10

**I'm sorry that it's been so long! I'll try to upload faster. I've just been feeling sad lately. But I owed this to you guys. Also, an anonymous user asked a good question, regarding A. They asked _if because A was obsessed with Alison in the show, wouldn't A in this story be Spencer?_ I thought about this before I started this story. I decided not to, because I wanted to keep the spirit of A, so I just used A and not S.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

8:30PM, Toby snuck out of his house and drove his motorcycle to the Brew. He quickly went behind The Brew into the alleyway and stood still, waiting for Spencer to show up. He checked his phone and saw it was 8:55. She would be here in minutes.

At 9:00 sharp, a slender figure emerged from the shadows and stood in front of him. He watched it silently, not daring to breath. Toby wasn't sure how long it was standing there. Finally, the figure moved into the light of the moon and was revealed to be Spencer.

Toby broke into a grin, and Spencer gave him a radiant smile. He opened his arms and she ran into them, wrapping her smaller arms around his. Spencer broke the hug and and before Toby knew it her lips were on his.

It wasn't a long kiss though, but he enjoyed it. When she broke away, her smile faded and her face was serious.

"Toby, I'm so sorry for leaving you. I should have told you, but, if I did, you wouldn't be safe. None of you would."

"Then why does Alison know?" He asked softly.

Spencer looked down at the gravel. "It's complicated," she replied, not looking at him.

"I know," Toby said, his eyes trained on her. "This whole thing is complicated. But if you tell me, I - we - can help you."

She finally looked at him, her eyes filled with tears. "I can't tell you yet. But I will soon. I just need more time."

Toby didn't reply. Instead he asked, "do you know who A is?"

Now the tears were falling down Spencer's pale face. "No," she sniffled, "but I have a good idea. But I have to be sure. This is why I can't tell you guys. I don't want to get it wrong, like I did last time."

Toby furrowed his eyebrows. "Last time?"

Spencer didn't answer him. She threw her arms around him in an embrace. "I've missed you," she cried.

"I've missed you too," Toby replied, hugging her back.

After a moment, he broke away, but kept his arms on hers. "Who else knows you're alive?" He asks.

"Talk to Mona," she said, not answering his question. "She has answers."

"But Mona -"

"Lost her memory. I know. But seriously, Toby, talk to her!"

"But -" he began but was cut off by a loud snap behind them. He whirled around and was faced with darkness. After a moment, he turned back but Spencer was gone.

He looked around, but she wasn't there wasn't until later that night when he received a text:

We'll be in touch.

-S

* * *

"Of course Alison isn't at school today," Hanna said on Monday. "Now what?"

"We can always stop by her place after school," Emily suggested. "Her parents are gone for the week, so she'll be alone, except for Jason."

"How do you know Jason is staying at Ali's house?" Aria asked.

Emily shrugged. "It's just a guess. Where else would he stay?"

"How do you even know she'll be there?" Caleb asked. "She wasn't at her house on Saturday or Sunday."

"It's worth a try," Emily replied.

"What about Mona?" Hanna asked.

Emily looked at her. "What about her?"

"The Doctor said she wouldn't remember anything from three days to a week. She started her research on Spencer ages ago. She must still remember it and the warehouse!" Hanna exclaimed.

"That's true," Caleb said. I think we should go visit Mona after school."

"Um, hello?" Aria waved. "Have we forgotten that Alison knew that Spencer was alive all along? She has answers!"

"Well so does Mona," Hanna replied.

"Well, why can't half of us visit Alison and the other half visit Mona?" Toby asked.

"I'd like to do that," Caleb replied, "but I don't think it's a good idea. Not after... Friday night."

"He's right," Aria reasoned. "Besides, why don't we visit Mona first, and then Alison?"

"I can't," Emily said. "I have swim practice tonight. I can only do one."

"Guys," Caleb began. "I think we're missing the obvious here."

"Which is?" Toby asked.

"We tell the police." Caleb said seriously.

"That would be lovely dear, but we can't," Hanna told her boyfriend.

Caleb looked at her. "Why not?"

"Because we have no proof!" Hanna yelled. "They're not gonna believe Spencer's mourning friends that claim she's alive with no proof. Plus, have you forgotten that they found a body that seems to be Spencer?"

"Okay, geez," Caleb replied.

"I don't even care, I'm going to Alison's after school," Emily said, hoisting her bag on her shoulder.

"Me too," Aria told the swimmer.

Hanna shrugged. "I'm going to visit Mona at the hospital."

"I'll go with you," Caleb said, intervening his fingers with Hanna's.

"Is it okay if I tag along?" Toby asked them. "I don't think Alison will be pleased to see me."

"Of course," Hanna smiled.

"Okay, now what about Noel?" Aria asked. "We still don't know what he's up to."

"I don't know. Maybe he was offered some money," Hanna guessed.

"Well he must have been offered a lot because he tried to kill me the other night!" Aria snapped.

"Who tried to kill you?" A voice asked from behind. Toby turned around and saw Mr. Fitz - well, Ezra.

"Noel," Aria said disgustingly. "But then Jason knocked him out."

Ezra furrowed his eyebrows. "Jason DiLaurentis?" Aria nodded. "What was he doing at a teen party?"

Aria shrugged. "He said that Noel knew Ian, so Jason would still get invited. I don't know what Noel was going to do to me, but Jason came and saved me."

"Or he came to see if Noel finished the job." Ezra said slowly. Everybody looked at him.

"What?" Hanna exclaimed.

"Maybe Jason is helping A too. You don't know who you can trust."

"I don't think Jason is a part of this." Aria said flatly.

Ezra sighed. "Look, two people could have died the other night. You guys need to be careful."

"We will." Caleb said firmly.

* * *

After school, Toby went with Caleb and Hanna to visit Mona at the hospital. They talked to the lady at the reception and went to Mona's room.

Caleb, who was at the front, didn't even bother to knock on the door. He opened it and walked in, not glancing to see if Mona was even awake.

She was.

"Um, hello again," Mona greeted as politely.

"Mona, we know about the warehouse," Caleb stated.

Mona's face immediately changed from innocent to serious. "Let me guess, I told you guys, and took you there." She guessed dryly.

Hanna nodded. "What else do you know?"

"Oh, I know lots of things," Mona replied dismissively. "What do you want to know?"

"Quit the crap Mona," Caleb snapped. Mona rolled her eyes.

"Alright, look. Wait for me to get out of here, okay? When I'm discharged you and the rest of the Scooby squad can come to the warehouse with me."

"And when will you be released?" Caleb asked.

"A couple of days," Mona replied.

Caleb stared at Mona, hard. Toby wasn't sure what he had against Mona at this point.

"Let's just go," Toby said, turning towards the door. "Feel better soon, Mona." He said and the three teens left Mona's hospital room.

* * *

"Alison," Emily yelled, banging on the DiLaurentis' front door. "We know you're in there. Open up!"

No answer.

They've been taking turns banging on the front door for nearly 20 minutes.

"Alison!" Aria yelled. Eventually, mid knock, the door swung open to reveal Jason. His face turned from irritation to one of pleasure. "Aria," He said, almost smiling.

"Hi, Jason," Aria greeted with a half smile. "Um, we were looking for -"

"Alison, I know," he finished. "The whole street can hear you."

Emily blushed, but Aria continued. "Is she here?"

Jason didn't say anything for a moment. Then, he opened the door to let the girls in. "Yeah. She's been in her room for days."

"Thank you, Jason," Aria said softly before stepping inside with Emily trailing behind.


End file.
